RantCrush Top 5: June 5, 2017

At least fifteen young children died in South Sudan last week, not as a consequence of the country’s brutal civil war, but from a botched measles vaccination. The vaccines were reportedly administered by children as well, some as young as 12. According to the UN, the cause of death was “severe sepsis/toxicity” from contamination–one syringe was used for everyone who was vaccinated, and the vaccine was stored in a room temperature environment during the four-day period.

The same syringe was used on multiple people for four days straight in a vaccine campaign in South Sudan https://t.co/2S2ezEwKMG pic.twitter.com/1lWzVBHpGs

— New York Times World (@nytimesworld) June 3, 2017

South Sudan has been struggling with a brutal civil war for over three years, resulting in outbreaks of famine and cholera. The government blamed human error and said all the kids who died were under the age of five. Another 32 children became sick after getting the vaccine. Although the World Health Organization is supposed to provide some training for doctors and health officials in the country, the team involved in this was “neither qualified nor trained,” according to a WHO statement.

Emma Von Zeipel

Emma Von Zeipel is a staff writer at Law Street Media. She is originally from one of the islands of Stockholm, Sweden. After working for Democratic Voice of Burma in Thailand, she ended up in New York City. She has a BA in journalism from Stockholm University and is passionate about human rights, good books, horses, and European chocolate. Contact Emma at EVonZeipel@LawStreetMedia.com.